I know that I link to a lot of Robert Rath’s Critical Intel articles, but this one in particular is superb. Writing for The Escapist, Rath explains why modern military shooters provide a unrealistic depiction of modern warfare. (Hint: it has nothing to do with regenerating health.)

Did you know that there once was Cheetos-flavoured lip balm? Yeah, I know it’s gross. Richie Ryan, Steve Guiliotis, and Ivan Farkas of Cracked have a list of it and eight other wacky products associated with famous brands.

Game critics Sparky Clarkson and Brad Gallaway have started a series of letters on the flawed but fleetingly brilliant espionage RPG, Alpha Protocol. Here’s the first pair of letters.

Did you know that nearly 15% of all American marriages are interracial? (Did you know that I’ve now used “did you know” twice in this blog post? Wait no, thrice… Actually, four times.) That didn’t stop a shameful racist backlash from emerging against this Cheerios ad featuring an interracial couple and their mixed-race daughter. The backlash was so severe that the YouTube comments on the video had to be shut down. Now, it’s a well-known fact that YouTube comments are a cesspool of human ignorance, but the backlash spread elsewhere, even to General Mills’ own site. While little of the backlash was openly racist, some of it was more insidious. Take this gem, for example, from a commenter going by the handle of HW: “This commercial is unnecessary. There is nothing wrong with celebrating a black family or a white family – either or. I don’t need GM (or their liberal minded ad team) politics regarding family or anything else shoved in my face. Stick to making cereal, not the news. PS – I threw the last of the cheerios out this morning on my work. I will not be replacing anytime soon.” Excuse me, honey, the only thing General Mills wants to shove in your face is Cheerios. Some good did come out of all of this, though. In response to the backlash, interracial couple Michael David Murphy and Alyson West started a website for people to send in photos of their interracial families, We Are the 15 Percent. Good for them! (In the interest of full disclosure, I am currently eating a bowl of Cheerios as I type this.)